This factsheet was developed by the John Howard Society of British Columbia.

HERE’S HOW THE AUTHORS DESCRIBE THIS FACTSHEET:

Views on the treatment of youth who commit crime have changed over time. In the 1800s, youth were routinely incarcerated with adults and subject to corporal punishment. For the better part of the 1900s, youth were incarcerated separately from adults, but still subject to the inconsistent and inequitable treatment by the criminal justice system.

Under the current legislation, the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) of 2003, youth are provided with meaningful consequences to their actions that are proportionate to the seriousness of their offence, in an attempt to reduce reoffending and overall crime.